What Is Madame Web & Is The Marvel Movie Appropriate For Kids?

Contains spoilers for "Madame Web"

The superhero gig sure is a dangerous business, and that's evident in the wild events that Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson) gets tangled up in during "Madame Web." The latest entry in the Sony "Spider-Man" universe, this is another spin-off within the universe of "Venom" and "Morbius" and, at times, might even be more intense than the goings in both those films. It makes sense then as to why the film got a PG-13 rating by the MPAA and why parents might want to keep tabs on the goings-on in this arachnid-adjacent adventure.

Throughout much of the movie, Cassie is too busy protecting wall-crawlers-to-be Julia Carpenter (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor), who are all being hunted by a psychopathic wall-crawler named Ezekiel (Tahar Rahim). It's here where there are some moments that parents might not see as suitable for younger viewers, given that this plays like a tame '90s slasher/chase movie of sorts, courtesy of the film's big bad.

Given that there's a web-covered killer at the center of "Madame Web," the film runs the risk of violent chase scenes that are a little more intense than what audiences might be used to. Tahar Rahim's Ezekiel is a killer obsessed with outrunning his destiny, making him a Spider-Man-like menace who is out for blood. As a result, some of the movie's violent sequences feel like something out of a low-level horror movie, with Cassie at one point witnessing Ezekiel brutally throw the three girls she's supposed to protect around a train carriage and a highway diner. It's the kind of altercation that Jason Voorhees or a T-800 would be satisfied with. However, some audience members might see this as a little overboard for youngsters.

Besides that, there are also the occasional jumpscares that come with Cassie's premonitions. Balloons burst and pigeons hit window panes because, for some reason, our hero's new ability of foresight can't be in the form of seeing if rain is on the way or if she's going to burn her popcorn. With that, "Madame Web" really does play the closest to a family-friendly "Final Destination" as you can get, so if parents think that's too much for younger audience members, they can pass on the film — or watch an animated "Spider-Verse" movie as they're just better viewings altogether.